Our trip began the day before with a surprise flight change that would have had Eliza and I loitering in Abu Dabi airport for 19hrs. Airline Solution = re route via Paris and add another 13hrs and one flight to the 22hrs already needed to get to Italy.
Lumped with this, I packed 20 nappies – being a disposable novice, 3 changes of clothes for Eliza, one avocado, licorice and a good chunk of rice cereal. Really what else would I need?
At the airport, the departure was then delayed by 3 hrs meaning the new (stupid) schedule didn’t line up any more. Fortunately for us as we then pulled the nervous mother and bubba traveling alone card and suddenly found ourselves on a different airline with a bassinet the whole way and direct to Italy. Phew. I was dreading arriving in Paris as I have an overdue fine from 2003 – value €90.
Here are some tips on how to pull the baby card -
Dress bubba in gender appropriate colored outfit for easy identification – people like to get it right;
Have a large overflowing bag falling from one shoulder;
Forgo lunch so that your hands tremble when handing over your passports;
Have pre fed the small creature to make them highly sociable;
Stare at the sign behind the check in counter – this helps avoid eye contact and will make you appear teary;
And finally, take partner with you to check in to kick some serious butt.
Footnote: pack sticky tape as it allows you to tape newspaper over the bright destination screen which sits above the bassinet.
